Chapter 410 Are Kumquats also Citrus Fruits?
In Zhao Yougen's opinion, Li Yundong was just a poor student. He didn't know where he had scraped together the money to open such a store. As long as he casually competed with him, it wouldn't be long before the nasty brat went bankrupt on his own.
It was with this kind of mindset that the waiters recruited by Zhao Yougen were all high-paid beauties, and their salaries were enviable.
At first, these beauties in Qipao had thought that they had met a generous boss, especially after the previous opening ceremony, which had been very lively and glorious.
At this moment, the Tea Shop of Zhao was full of people, and it was very lively. The Lord Mayor had come in person, and everyone attending felt proud, all walking around with their heads upright.
However, after their boss had run to the opposite side and said a few harsh words, the whole situation had taken a nosedive, going from being bustling to desolate, while the opposite side turned from being desolate to bustling.
There was no way that this could have been foreseen!
The beauties in Qipao felt that their shop had been robbed of its limelight by their competitor, which was very embarrassing. There was probably nothing in life more embarrassing and depressing than being suppressed by one's opponent during a confrontation.
But soon, something even gloomier happened!
Their enemies had come to their shop to take tables and chairs, just like they were moving their own things!
This was equivalent to a situation where after a sex worker had provided a service, their client not only refused to pay the bill, but even robbed them!
"This is so fu*king absurd!"
But soon the beauties in Qipao realized that the most embarrassing thing was not yet over. What was even more embarrassing was that their boss was actually kneeling on the street and weeping!
The beauties in Qipao almost fell to the floor themselves. Some of them even whispered in private, "Is the other teahouse still hiring? I want to go over there!"
"Me too... I'm too embarrassed to stay here!"
"The boss opposite is young and handsome and has such a strong background. Ah, I'd be willing to throw myself at him!"
"Wake up, look at how many beauties he has around him! You'd have to queue for a hundred years to get your turn!"
These beauties in Qipao were all secretly pointing at Zhao Yougen behind him, and Li Yundong and the others opposite were also watching Zhao Yougen and whispering.
Li Yundong looked at Zhao Yougen and frowned suddenly, asking in a low voice, "Are we behaving too excessively?"
"Excessively?" Feng Na snorted. "This kind of person bullies others once they have some power, and then if they lose it, they will pretend to be pitiful. Humph, I think it's not excessive just to move their table and chairs! If it were me, I would have emptied his shop right out! Then demolished the whole building!"
Her best friend Cheng Cheng nodded hard. "Yes, yes! That'd be ideal!"
Li Yundong smiled ruefully. "You two are no fun!"
Zi Yuan also smiled slightly and said, "Yes, this guy is done for. There is no need to carry on tormenting him. Aren't you afraid of hurting your reputation? Moreover, one should be lenient whenever possible!"
At this time, Zhou Qin and Su Chan, who had set up the tables and chairs, also walked over. The little girl clapped her hands and hummed, "Would it be possible to spare him like this? This guy has been acting against us for more than ten days!"
A smile appeared at the corners of Zhou Qin's mouth. "It's okay, there will be opportunities to properly get rid of him in the future! It'd be better to let it go for now and draw out his defeat!"
Li Yundong looked at her helplessly and said, "Is this your original appearance?"
Zhou Qin smiled slightly, tossing her silky black hair as she said faintly, "I just think it's good to make people know that if they want to bully us they will have to pay the price! Master, since it's not convenient for you to do anything, I'll do it for you!"
Li Yundong smiled bitterly and shook his head. Before even opening his mouth to speak, Feng Na on the side began saying persuasively, "Hurry up and let President Cao and the others take their seats. They have been waiting for a long time!"
Only then did Li Yundong notice that Cao Kefei, Yin Mengfan, and Liu Fei'er were staring at them in astonishment. He quickly flashed a grin and said, "Mr. Cao, you can sit anywhere you want!"
With that said, Li Yundong pointed at the tables and chairs that Zhou Qin and Su Chan had brought over. "Why don't you sit here?"
Cao Kefei hurriedly waved her hand and said with a smile, "No, no, this is your trophy, we can't sit here." She took Liu Fei'er and Yin Mengfan to another nearby table and sat down.
Li Yundong just looked at them mildly and didn't insist.
After a while, the upper and lower floors became full of people. Zi Yuan whispered to Li Yundong, "Can we start the opening ceremony now?"
Li Yundong nodded and said, "Okay!"
"Then let's ask Uncle Li to cut the ribbon for us?" Zhou Qin asked tentatively.
"Is everything prepared?"
"We can make the preparations now," Zhou Qin said. "We happen to have some red silk and satin that has not been used up in the store. It can be used in a pinch."
Li Yundong thought for a moment before saying to Su Chan, "Chan'er, you're the master of ceremonies. You will be responsible for serving the dishes later."
Su Chan blinked her eyes. "Dishes?"
Li Yundong smiled and tweaked the tip of her nose. "Didn't you see how they held the opening ceremony opposite? Can't we do the same thing?"
Su Chan suddenly understood. "Ah, okay. I'll go prepare for it!" she said with a giggle.
Li Yundong patted her head affectionately. "Don't make a mistake!"
Su Chan replied obediently, "Got it!" Then, she turned and ran into the storage room of the tea house.
Li Yundong then turned to Zhou Qin. "Go with Feng Na and Cheng Cheng to prepare the red silk. I'll ask Secretary Li to come down later."
Zhou Qin nodded affirmatively, gestured to Feng Na and Cheng Cheng, and turned away.
Li Yundong then smiled at the other schoolmates who had come with Cheng Cheng and said, "Everyone, take your seats. Don't stand at the door with me. Those who don't know any better will mistake you as my bodyguards!"
The students from Tiannan University chuckled and slid into their seats on the first floor.
After Li Yundong had finished arranging everyone, he whispered to Zi Yuan, "Will you cut the ribbon with me later?"
Zi Yuan asked suspiciously, "Why are you asking me this suddenly?"
"If you hadn't been here, this shop would not have even opened. If shares were calculated based on individuals' contributions, you would have at least 35% of the shares, and I would also have 35%. The others would all share the remaining 30%."
With a light smile on her face, Zi Yuan shook her head and said by way of rejection, "Li Yundong, since you know full well that we have been working together as a whole, you shouldn't say such things. If we lacked any one of them, we would have failed! Think about it. Could we have lacked Su Chan while competing with others' tea art? Or Ruan Hongling? If I am the only one to cut the ribbon, they will feel like it's unfair even if they don’t say it!"
Li Yundong fell silent for a long time. Eventually, he sighed lightly and said, "Zi Yuan, this is really unfair to you."
Zi Yuan smiled gently, "I don't think so. I don't want to stand out, and you are the only man amongst us. Naturally, it'd be best if you showed up."
Li Yundong smiled and nodded slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Su Chan suddenly rushed out of the storage room and yelled, "Yundong, we only have one pair of scissors!"
Li Yundong was stunned. "Only one? I'm afraid that won't be enough, right? Is it too late to buy more now?"
Su Chan blinked slowly. "Yeah, probably."
Li Yundong thought for a moment and said, "Let's find something else to use instead then. You can always come up with a way!"
Su Chan nodded and turned away. At this time, Zhou Qin, Feng Na and the others came out with a three-meter-long red ribbon. "Is it long enough?" Zhou Qin asked.
Li Yundong nodded. "Should be enough. Zhou Qin, go and invite Secretary Li to come down. We'll start cutting the ribbons."
Li Yundong then turned to the little foxes. "You are responsible for setting off the firecrackers!"
Upon hearing this, the little foxes felt a rush of excitement. They ran over to the storage room and pulled out a few bundles of firecrackers. Li Yundong said to them, "Hang them up on the roof and set them off later. It will be the perfect chance for us to put on a good show!"
Each of the little foxes had bright, penetrating eyes and pearly white teeth. No matter how strong the men they encountered might be, they could extract their souls. They answered in unison, immediately attracting the attention of many people upstairs.
Each of the four young girls was holding a firecracker in her hands. Without even making any preparations, they jumped up to the top of the building. After hanging the firecrackers, they descended back down lightly like swallows.
At this time, the guests upstairs were stunned, and it took a long time before boisterous cheering broke out, and they clapped until their palms were raw.
Liu Fei'er, who was downstairs, widened her eyes and exclaimed, "That's amazing! How can they jump so high? Are they using invisible wires?"
Cao Kefei grinned and said, "How could that be? Do you think this is a film set? They have real skill!"
Liu Fei'er shook her head with an incredulous expression on her face and said, "How is that possible? Some of the girls look younger than me, how could they jump so high? If they are really relying on their own strength, their jumps would qualify them to set new Olympic records.
Cao Kefei smiled meaningfully. "I had doubts before, but after meeting Li Yundong, I now believe that there are experts in this world!"
Liu Fei'er looked closely at Li Yundong, asking suspiciously, "Is he really so powerful? He doesn't look like an expert!"
At this time, Zhou Qin invited Li Yuanbo to cut the ribbon for the opening ceremony of the Disanxian. As the owner of the shop, Li Yundong stood shoulder to shoulder with Li Yuanbo.
Li Yuanbo has been observing Li Yundong silently all this time. He had watched Li Yundong in the midst of all this drama, but it seemed that no matter who he met, he would not change his face, remaining humble and behaving very calmly. His composure not only surpassed that of his peers, but even many of the well-informed old politicians.
"How did this young man cultivate such a temperament? Amazing, incredible!"
At this time, Zi Yuan, Zhou Qin, and Feng Na started temporarily acting like ceremonial ladies, standing on each side of the red silk.
Li Yuanbo saw that the clothes of the three were different, and he said with a smile, "Are you serving as ceremonial ladies? How unprofessional!"
Zi Yuan smiled faintly, as if a breeze was blowing on her face. Feng Na was a little nervous and did not dare to receive the words of the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.
Only Zhou Qin said with a smile, "Uncle Li, are the decoration workers professional enough? Seems like their decoration is not as good as ours! These days, you have to select people based on multiple skills!"
Li Yuanbo nodded at Zhou Qin. "You're so sharp-tongued, little girl!"
With this, he smiled and said to Li Yundong, "Li, I am willing to cut the ribbon, but where are the scissors?"
Li Yundong smiled bitterly. "A moment, please!" He then turned his head and rushed into the storage room, shouting, "Su Chan! Have you found it yet?"
"I'm coming!" Su Chan's voice rang out before she showed her face. After a while, she hurried out holding a plate covered with two pieces of red cloth.
Li Yuanbo took in Su Chan's beautiful appearance and was struck by how cute she looked rushing about. He couldn't help smiling and saying, "What a beautiful girl. Slow down! Don't fall!"
Su Chan looked at Li Yuanbo and grinned brightly, raising the plate as she said, "Secretary Li, please remove the red silk cloth on the right."
Li Yuanbo saw that there were two pieces of red cloth on the plate. He smiled and said, "Oh, what's this custom?" Then he uncovered the red cloth and saw a pair of scissors lying underneath, which he picked up with a smile.
Su Chan brought the plate over to Li Yundong again, winking at him repeatedly.
Seeing Su Chan's unusual behavior, Li Yundong felt suspicious and asked in a low voice, "Chan'er, what's wrong with you?"
When Su Chan opened her mouth to speak, Li Yuanbo looked at Li Yundong puzzledly and asked, "Li, why haven't you removed the other cloth?"
Su Chan immediately clamped her mouth shut, stared at the red cloth, and continued winking at Li Yundong.
Li Yundong gaped at the little girl's behavior and thought that she was hinting at him to quickly remove the red cloth, so he unhesitatingly lifted it.
What was beneath was amazing!
Su Chan immediately lowered her head with a pained look on her face, and Li Yundong was struck dumb in surprise, his eyes wide open!
There was a file lying there on the plate!
Li Yuanbo stared at Li Yundong in a daze. He glanced at him curiously, seemingly thunderstruck. This Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, who had experienced countless dramatic scenes, was rooted to the spot for a while, and could not say any word!
Li Yundong picked up the seven-inch-long file from the plate, his hand trembling. He stuttered, "What, what is this?"
Su Chan lowered her head as low as she could, so that her chin was almost touching her chest. She said in a low, muffled voice, "The file!"
Li Yundong looked mad and said, "Didn't I ask you to find a substitute? You couldn't have even gotten a knife? What is this? Can this be used to cut the ribbon?"
Su Chan raised her eyes and glanced at Li Yundong, muttering in a low voice, "Files are also knives!"
Hearing this, Li Yundong almost collapsed. "Files are also knives? Is the kumquat citrus?"